A Teen Fugitive
Holly Hamilton (Marie Avgeropoulos - Smoke Screen) is an independent minded teenager who looks after her sick grandmother and whilst on probation tries to keep out of trouble. Unless that trouble involves hacking as she has a talent for it and uses it to help those she cares about, including her friend Blake (Cindel Chartrand). Having reluctantly agreed to go to a party with Blake, Holly finds herself in serious trouble when Blake is killed by a guy who gives her a date rape drug and then frames Holly for her death. With the police convinced she is guilty Holly finds herself being transferred to Juvenile Hall but manages to escape when another detainee stages a breakout. Now on the run with the cops on her trail Holly won't stop until she not only clears her name but also makes sure the man responsible is caught and made to pay.
"Fugitive at 17" is a simple made for TV movie where we have a girl who is accused of killing her friend, she has a criminal record so the police suspect her, and when she inevitably goes on the run uses her skills as a computer hacker to clear her name and catch the real criminal. It is all pretty basic but with some nice dressing up,such as Holly's criminal record is due to her having covered for a friend and despite her rebellious look is in fact a good girl who really cares for others, especially her sick grandmother. As such "Fugitive at 17" is pretty much a typical walk through to an inevitable showdown including the aspect that the detective, played by Christina Cox, is trying to be fair and give Holly the benefit of the doubt but is under pressure from superiors to make sure Holly is found guilty.
But whilst "Fugitive at 17" has some of the usual flaws such as bad dialogue, some bad acting and a complete lack of believability when it comes to hacking it does have three things. Firstly Casper Van Dien cast in a bad guy role which whilst not completely unusual does make things a little more interesting. It also has Christina Cox who delivers a nice performance as Detective Langford bringing the side of her character to life that she sees the person rather than the crime which means she isn't completely convinced that Holly is guilty. But the star of "Fugitive at 17" is Marie Avgeropoulos who delivers the teen rebel mixed with good girl nicely and makes her an interesting as well as likeable character.
What this all boils down to is that "Fugitive at 17" is just a routine made for TV movie featuring some one on the run trying to prove their innocence. The fact it features a teen hacker adds little to the movie although the casting, especially that of Marie Avgeropoulos, certainly helps things.
